The present invention relates to a package of tobacco articles, to a blank for a package of tobacco articles, and to a method of folding a blank to form a package of tobacco articles .

BACKGROUND ART

A so-called 'shoulder box' package of cigarettes is known comprising a flat, open- topped box containing a group of cigarettes normally arranged in two superimposed layers; and a lid hinged to the box by a sticker glued to the box and lid. A collar inside the box projects from the lateral walls of the box towards the lid to guide and support the lid as it is opened and closed, and to hold the closed lid in contact with the box by interfering slightly with the free movement of the lid.

'Shoulder box' packages of cigarettes are currently made using a first blank which is gummed and folded to form the box; a second blank separate from the first, and which is gummed and folded to form the lid; a third blank separate from the first and second, and which is folded to form a collar which is inserted inside and glued to the lateral walls of the box; and a sticker which is glued about the box and lid to hinge the lid to the box.

Working with three separate blanks makes ' shoulder box' packages of cigarettes complicated to produce, by having to work with three separate, independent packing materials, and three independent packing units, each for folding a corresponding blank. Also, using three independent packing units, the 'shoulder box' production system is extremely bulky and of poor overall efficiency, by having to be shut down completely in the event of a problem (e.g. jamming) on any one of the packing units.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a package of tobacco articles, a blank for a package of tobacco articles, and a method of folding a blank- to form a package of tobacco articles, designed to eliminate the above drawbacks, and which are cheap and easy to produce. The tobacco articles are preferably cigarettes .

According to the present invention, there are provided a package of tobacco articles, a blank for a package of tobacco articles, and a method of folding a blank to form a package of tobacco articles, as claimed in the accompanying Claims .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A number of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which : Figure 1 shows a front view in perspective of a package of tobacco articles in accordance with the present invention and in a closed configura ion;

Figure 2 shows a front view in perspective of the Figure 1 package of tobacco articles in an open configuration;

Figure 3 shows a front view in perspective of the Figure 1 package of tobacco articles in an open configuration, with the group of tobacco articles removed;

Figure 4 shows a rear view in perspective of the Figure 1 package of tobacco articles in an open configuration;

Figure 5 shows a cross section of a rear portion of the Figure 1 package of tobacco articles in a closed configuration;

Figure 6 shows a plan view of a blank from which to form the Figure 1 package of tobacco articles;

Figures 7 and 8 show two, respectively front and rear, plan views of the Figure 6 blank, showing the gummed areas ;

Figure 9 shows a view in perspective of how the Figure 6 blank is folded before being combined with the group of tobacco articles to form the Figure 1 package;

Figures 10 and 11 show two, respectively front and rear, plan views of the Figure 6 blank folded partly, before being combined with the group of tobacco articles ; Figures 12-17 show schematic views in perspective of how the partly folded blank in Figures 10 and 11 is folded about the group of tobacco articles to form the Figure 1 package;

Figure 18 shows a front view in perspective of an alternative embodiment of the Figure 1 package of tobacco articles in an open configuration, with the group of tobacco articles removed;

Figure 19 shows a plan view of a blank from which to form the package of tobacco articles in Figure 18. PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Number 1 in Figures 1-4 indicates as a whole a so- called 'shoulder box' package of cigarettes.

Package 1 of cigarettes comprises a flat, open- topped box 2 containing a wrapped group 3 of cigarettes (tobacco articles), i.e. a group of cigarettes (not shown) wrapped in a sheet of foil wrapping material; and a lid 4 hinged to box 2 to rotate between a closed position (Figure 1) , in which lid 4 closes an open top end 5 of box 2, and an open position (Figures 2-4) , in which lid 4 is lifted off box 2 to access group 3 of cigarettes through the open top end 5 of box 2.

As shown in Figure 3 , box 2 is parallelepiped- shaped, and has a bottom wall 6 opposite the open top end 5; a front wall 7 and rear wall 8 opposite and parallel to each other; and two parallel lateral walls 9 interposed between walls 7 and 8. Lid 4 is in the form of a cup-shaped parallelepiped, and has a top wall 10 which is opposite and parallel to bottom wall 6 of box 2 when lid 4 is closed; a front wall 11 and rear wall 12 opposite and parallel to each other, and which are parallel to and superimposed on corresponding front and rear walls 7 and 8 of box 2 when lid 4 is closed; and two parallel lateral walls 13 which are parallel to and superimposed on corresponding lateral walls 9 of box 2 when lid 4 is closed.

As shown in Figure 4, lid 4 is hinged to box 2 by a hinge 14 connecting rear wall 12 of lid 4 to an outer connecting wall 15 integral with rear wall 8 of box 2. As shown in Figure 5, outer connecting wall 15 (i.e. visible from the outside) is connected at the top end to rear wall 12 of lid 4 along hinge 14 of lid 4; and an inner connecting wall 16 (i.e. not visible, by being inserted between rear wall 8 of box 2 on one side, and rear wall 12 of lid 4 and outer connecting wall 15 on the other) is connected at the bottom end to the bottom end of outer connecting wall 15 along a transverse fold line 17a, is connected at the top end to the top end of rear wall 8 of box 2 along a transverse fold line 17b, and is glued by glue 18 and 19 to outer connecting wall 15 (but not to rear wall 12 of lid 4) on one side, and to rear wall 8 of box 2 on the other.

As shown in Figure 1, top wall 10 of lid 4 is larger (i.e. longer and wider) than bottom wall 6 of box 2, so that, when lid 4 is closed, front wall 11 of lid 4 is superimposed on and completely covers front wall 7 of box 2, and lateral walls 13 of lid 4 are superimposed on and completely cover lateral walls 9 of box 2. It is important to note that top wall 10 of lid 4 is only slightly larger than bottom wall 6 of box 2, so that, when lid 4 is closed, front wall 11 of lid 4 fits snugly over front wall 7 of box 2, and lateral walls 13 of lid 4 fit snugly over lateral walls 9 of box 2. By virtue of this feature, box 2 therefore guides and supports the lid as it is opened and closed, and maintains contact between itself and the closed lid by interfering slightly with the free movement of lid 4. In other words, box 2 performs the functions normally performed by the collar in conventional packages of this type, thus enabling the collar to be eliminated from package 1 of cigarettes.

Box 2 and lid 4 in Figures 1-5 are formed from a single blank 20 shown in Figure 6 and comprising a number of panels indicated using the same reference numbers, with superscripts, as for the corresponding walls of box 2 and lid 4.

With reference to Figure 6, blank 20 has two inner longitudinal fold lines 21a, and a number of transverse fold lines 17 which define, between the two inner longitudinal fold lines 21a, a panel 11' forming front wall 11 of lid 4; a panel 10' forming top wall 10 of lid 4; a panel 12 ' +15 ' forming rear wall 12 of lid 4 and outer connecting wall 15 separated by hinge 14 of lid 4 ; a panel 16' forming inner connecting wall 16; a panel 8' forming rear wall 8 of box 2 ; a panel 6 ¹ forming bottom wall 6 of box 2; and a panel 7' forming front wall 7 of box 2.

Blank 20 comprises two panels 13 ' which are located on opposite sides of panel 10 ' , are connected to panel 10 ' along the two inner longitudinal fold lines 21a, and form the two lateral walls 13 of lid 4; and two reinforcing wings 13 ' ' which are located on opposite sides of panels 13 ' , are connected to panels 13 ¹ along two outer longitudinal fold lines 21b, and are superimposed on and glued to corresponding panels 13 ¹ to internally strengthen lateral walls 13 of lid 4.

Blank 20 comprises a reinforcing flap 11' ¹ which is connected to panel 11' along a transverse fold line 17, and is superimposed on and glued to panel 11 ' to internally strengthen front wall 11 of lid 4. Blank 20 preferably comprises a through hole 22 ' formed symmetrically between panel 11' and reinforcing flap 11 ' ' , and which defines a window 22 in front wall 11 of lid 4 (Figure 1) by which to grip and open lid 4. As an alternative to window 22 in front wall 11 of lid 4, two windows, identical to window 22 in front wall 11 of lid 4, may be formed symmetrically in lateral walls 13 of lid, and defined by corresponding through holes formed symmetrically between panels 13 ' and reinforcing wings 13 ¹ ' .

Panel 11' comprises two tabs 23 which are located on opposite sides of panel 11', are connected to panel 11' along the two inner longitudinal fold lines 21a, and are glued to panels 13'. Panel 12 ' +15 ' comprises two tabs 24 which are located on opposite sides of panel 12 '+15', are connected to panel 12 ' +15 ' along the two inner longitudinal fold lines 21a, and are glued to panels 13 ' . The outer edges of the two reinforcing wings 13 ' ' are preferably shaped to negatively reproduce the shape of tabs 23 and 24, so as to in no way overlap tabs 23 and 24, while at the same time substantially completely covering the inner surface of panels 13 ' (as shown clearly in Figure 11) .

In one embodiment, each, tab 24 is connected to rear wall 12 of lid 4 along a non-tearable portion of an inner longitudinal fold line 21a, and is connected to outer connecting wall 15 along a tear portion of inner longitudinal fold line 21a, so that each lateral wall 13 of lid 4 is initially connected to rear wall 8 of box 2 along a tear line which is torn when unsealing lid 4. This feature is particularly useful when producing package 1 of cigarettes, by keeping lid 4 in the closed position when transferring package 1 from the packing machine on which it is produced, to a cellophaning machine for applying a transparent overwrap to package 1.

Blank 20 comprises two panels 9' which are located on opposite sides of panel 6 ' , are connected to panel 6 ' along the two inner longitudinal fold lines 21a, and form the two lateral walls 9 of box 2. Each panel 9' comprises a tab 25 connected to panel 9' along a transverse fold line 17, and which is glued to panel 8 ' ; and a tab 26 connected to panel 9' along a transverse fold line 17 at the opposite end to tab 25, and which is glued to panel 7 ¹ .

One possible gumming layout of blank 20 is shown in Figures 7 and 8, which show the front- face areas of blank 20 applied with glue 18 (Figure 7) , and the rear- face areas of blank 20 applied with glue 19 (Figure 8) . The gumming layout of blank 20 shown in Figures 7 and 8 may obviously be varied, e.g. by increasing the rear- face areas of blank 20 applied with glue 19, and accordingly reducing the front-face areas of blank 20 applied with glue 18.

With reference to Figures 9-17, the following is a description of a preferred (but not the only) way of folding blank 20 to form package 1 of cigarettes.

As shown in Figure 9, blank 20 is first folded on its own (i.e. before group 3 of cigarettes is placed on panel 6') by folding panel 12 ' +15 ' 180° about transverse fold line 17a with respect to and onto panel 16 ' , and by folding panel 16' 180° about transverse fold line 17b with respect to and onto panel 8'. Panels 12 ' +15 ¹ and 16' are preferably folded simultaneously 180° with respect to panels 16' and 8', so as to form a Z-shaped fold, and obviously after first applying glue 18 and 19 to panels 15', 16' and 8' as shown, for example, in Figures 7 and 8. Blank 20 is preferably folded on its own (i.e. before group 3 of cigarettes is placed on panel 6 ' ) by folding reinforcing flap 11' ' 180° about a transverse fold line 17 with respect to and onto panel 11', and by folding each reinforcing wing 13'' 180° about corresponding outer longitudinal fold line 21b with respect to and onto corresponding panel 13 ¹ . Obviously, before reinforcing flap 11' ¹ and reinforcing wings 13' ' are folded 180° with respect to panel 11' and panels 13 ' , reinforcing flap 11 ' ' , reinforcing wings 13 ' ' , and panels 11' and 13' are applied with glue 18 as shown, for example, in Figure 7.

When folded as described above, blank 20 appears as shown in Figures 10 and 11. At this point, group 3 of cigarettes is placed on blank 20, in particular on panel 6' of blank 20; and blank 20 is folded about group 3 of cigarettes to form box 2 and lid 4 about group 3 of cigarettes .

As shown in Figure 12, once group 3 of cigarettes is placed on panel 6' (i.e. once panels 12 ' +15 ¹ and 16', reinforcing flap 11' ' and reinforcing wings 13' ' are folded), each panel 9' forming a lateral wall 9 of box 2 is folded 90° about an inner longitudinal fold line 21a with respect to panel 6' and onto group 3 of cigarettes. After which, as shown in Figure 13, each tab 25 is folded 90° about a transverse fold line 17 with respect to a corresponding panel 9 ' and onto group 3 of cigarettes; and each tab 26 is folded 90° about a transverse fold line 17 with respect to a corresponding panel 9' and onto group 3 of cigarettes.

As shown in Figure 14 , once the two panels 9 ' , two tabs 25, and two tabs 26 are folded 90°, panel 12 ' +15 ' , panel 16' and panel 8' are folded together 90° about a transverse fold line 17 with respect to panel 6' and onto group 3 of cigarettes; after which, as shown in Figure 15, panel 10' is folded 90° about a transverse fold line 17 with respect to panel 12 ' +15 ' and onto group 3 of cigarettes.

At this point, as shown in Figure 16, panel 11' (together with reinforcing flap 11'' superimposed on and glued beforehand to panel 11') is folded about a transverse fold line 17 with respect to panel 10' and onto group 3 of cigarettes. As shown in Figure 17, once panel 11', panel 10', panel 12 ' +15 ' , panel 16' and panel 8' are folded 90°, each tab 23 is folded 90° about an inner longitudinal fold line 21a with respect to panel 11' and onto group 3 of cigarettes; and each tab 24 is folded 90° about an inner longitudinal fold line 21a with respect to panel 12 ' +15 ' and onto group 3 of cigarettes .

Finally, each panel 13' (together with the corresponding reinforcing wing 13 ' ' superimposed on and glued beforehand to panel 13') is folded 90° about an inner longitudinal fold line 21a with respect to panel 10 ' and onto group 3 of cigarettes to complete package 1 of cigarettes. In a preferred (obviously non- limiting) embodiment, panels 12 ' +15 ' and 16', reinforcing flap 11'' and reinforcing wings 13 ' ' , folded before placing group 3 of cigarettes on blank 20, are folded off the packing machine (e.g. at the factory where blanks 20 are made, or on a dedicated folding machine upstream from the packing machine) , and subsequent folding of blank 20 about group 3 of cigarettes is performed on a packing machine (e.g. an ' X6 ' produced by GD Societa per Azioni) .

In an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 18, rear wall 12 and inner connecting wall 16 of the box have a window 27 for simplifying withdrawal of the cigarettes from group 3, i.e. for also enabling user access to part of the rear wall, as opposed to only the top wall, of group 3 of cigarettes. Figure 19 shows the blank 20 from which to form the package 1 of cigarettes in Figure 18. As can be seen, the through hole 27' defining window 27 is formed through panels 8' and 16', and is specularly symmetrical astride transverse fold line 17b.

In one embodiment, a retaining device may be provided to hold the closed lid 4 in contact with box 2 with a given force that must be overcome to open lid 4. For example, the retaining device may comprise an elastically deformable appendix projecting from front wall 11 of lid 4 and which flexes elastically to engage a corresponding seat formed in front wall 7 of box 2 (or two appendixes projecting from lateral walls 13 of lid 4, and which engage corresponding seats formed in lateral walls 9 of box 2) .

In one embodiment, package 1 of cigarettes may comprise an outer sticker glued to the outside of box 2 and lid 4 to cover the outer surface of box 2 and lid 4 for substantially aesthetic purposes, but which may also have a structural function of forming an additional hinge between box 2 and lid 4, and located outwards of, and operating in parallel with, hinge 14.

In another embodiment not shown, reinforcing flap 11' ' and/or reinforcing wings 13' ' are eliminated. Reinforcing flap 11 ' ' and reinforcing wings 13 ' ' serve to conceal the cardboard edges of, and strengthen, front wall 11 and lateral walls 13 of lid 4 respectively. Though useful, these functions are not indispensable to package 1 of cigarettes, so, to save on packing material and simplify the folding of blank 20, reinforcing flap 11' ' and/or reinforcing wings 13' ' may be eliminated.

In the embodiments shown in the drawings, all the edges of box 2 and lid 4 are square. In variations not shown, at least some of the longitudinal and/or transverse edges are bevelled or rounded.

Package 1 of cigarettes as described has numerous advantages .

In particular, it is cheap and extremely fast to make, by box 2 and lid 4 being made from a single blank 20 which, by virtue of its design, can be processed easily on a standard packing machine.

Moreover, in package 1 of cigarettes described, the connection between box 2 and lid 4 is extremely strong and precise, by being mainly defined by hinge 14 formed directly on blank 20 (as opposed to simply an outer sticker, as in conventional 'shoulder box' packages). Precise positioning of the hinge between box 2 and lid 4 is particularly important, in that even the slightest inaccuracy prevents lid 4 from closing properly over box 2 (i.e. lid 4 rubs excessively against box 2, thus making it difficult to open and close) .

Because of the triple thickness of package 1 of cigarettes at the hinge 14 area (by superimposing rear wall 12 of lid 4, outer connecting wall 15, inner connecting wall 16, and rear wall 8 of box 2, as shown clearly in Figure 5) , the hinge area is particularly strong and rigid, thus ensuring precise, consistent rotation of lid 4 with respect to box 2 (i.e. unaffected by wear) .

Finally, package 1 of cigarettes described does not necessarily require an outer sticker glued about box 2 and lid 4. Because it is expensive to produce and difficult to apply accurately, eliminating the outer sticker is a big cost saver. And even if an outer sticker glued about box 2 and lid 4 is opted for regardless, it may be small, thus reducing material consumption and simplifying the corresponding folding operations. The reason for this lies in box 2 and lid 4 being connected by hinge 14 formed directly on blank 20, which means the outer sticker is purely aesthetic, with no structural function.

In view of its numerous advantages, the design of package 1 of cigarettes may also be applied to producing packages of other tobacco articles (e.g. cigars), or for producing cartons of cigarettes, which are substantially identical to package 1 of cigarettes described, except that they contain groups of packets of cigarettes as opposed to group 3 of cigarettes .